Camp Cousin 2013

The summer of 2013 has been one of highs and lows.  We've had great times but we've had our rough patches too.  Camp Cousin was definitely one of the great times; it was just what we needed to round out our summer.  In short, we designed Camp Cousin to reflect a traditional day camp for our nieces and nephew.  Our nieces from Wisconsin couldn't make it, but we had our two nieces and nephew from Grand Haven.  The campers came for 2 days and completed a number of camp activities to fill their badge books. 

 

Campers: Andrew, Gracie, Sylvia, Claire and Henry (not pictured)

The Camp had several staff, including the camp cook, Big Bertha, shown here rustling the kids up for some grub, as she called it.

Other staff included Ranger Joe, Camp Director Jen who organized activities, and Camp Counselor Aunt Jenni who spent time with the campers.

As Ranger Joe said: "a seat for each kid and a kid for each seat."

Henry working to complete his swimming badge.

 

Claire performed a drum solo to complete her talent show badge.

 

The kids slept in Cabin #1, Cabin Stinky Skunk.

Actually, Henry was a bit too excited and had to be

relocated to Cabin #2, Cabin Busy Bug.

 

Ranger Joe led chapel.

Our theme verse for the year was Psalm 113:3

"From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised."

Working toward another badge, a nature scavenger hunt.

 

What would camp be without crafts?  Here the kids made bird feeders by spreading peanut butter, then bird seed onto pine cones.

 

The happy campers heading home.

Claire's Artwork

Claire's been doing a lot of coloring lately.  Here's a sample of some of her work.

 

"Rainbow"

"Mommy"

"Spider stuck in cage"

 

I just love seeing her imagination take off.

We never know what she'll come up with next!

Tea Time

Look who hijacked my Chi Tea Latte...

 

 

I guess I'm not the only one who needed a pick-me-up today.

 

Building Blocks, Making Memories

For Father's Day this year, the kids and I gave Joe a family day pass to Legoland, which is outside of Chicago.  First as a child, and now as a father, Joe really likes Legos, so this was a perfect mini-vacation for our family. 

 

Just walking in, we were already amazed.

 

A very large and extremely detailed city landscape.

 

A Star Wars exhibit, another reason we thought Joe would like Legoland.

Can you identify these famous people?

 

A 4-D movie

 

Hear us roar!

 

Henry's favorite: this snowman that he kept adding extra Legos to.

Claire's favorite: this ride that we had to peddle like a bike to go up and down.  There were no lines, so I lost track of how many times we rode this one.  Claire couldn't get enough.  By the look of Henry's grip on his seat, I'm guessing he wasn't quite as confident.

 

Both kids really loved the jungle exhibit as well. 

We spent a lot of time there, checking out the different animals.

 

The last hour we were at Legoland, the other customers cleared

out and we had the whole place to ourselves.  It was a blast.

This picture is for my mom.

 

After leaving Legoland we went to a nearby hotel for the night.  The next morning we did some swimming in the pool.  After packing up, we had about an hour to kill before we wanted to be on the road.  What better way to spend an hour than wandering through IKEA.   

  

The kids played in the shopping cars until we were ready to get on the real road.

 

On our way home we stopped in South Haven. 

Claire really wanted to see the lighthouse.  She loves lighthouses.  We weren't really prepared for the beach, which is why Joe is wearing a pair of Henry's shorts on his head as sun protection.  He cracks me up! 

We also stopped in a few of our favorite shops and, of course, had to get some ice cream on such a hot day.

 

Well, that wraps up our marvelous mini-vacation.  It certainly was filled with fun and laughter, a much needed break for a couple days.

 

Independence Day

Wishing everyone a festive 4th of July!

 

Henry's Health Update

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted a "Henry's Health Update".  Brings me back to those long days of visiting him in the hospital as a newborn.  But tonight I wanted to offer an update on Henry's health, as he is currently resting after a surgery he had this morning.  It was an outpatient procedure to fix a hydrocele, which I'll let you look up if you're interested. 

 

Blowing bubbles prior to surgery

Using his doggy to pop the bubbles - a trick Nurse Sue taught him to do.

Loving the hospital toys.

Friends from church, Don and Lynn,

came to keep us company while we waited.

On our way to anesthesia.

 

Surgery went as well as we could have hoped for.  He was in and out in about 90 minutes, which was as expected.  The doctor said they did run into a bit of scar tissue, but all-in-all, it could not have gone better. 

 

Following surgery.

Cuddling with Daddy and doggy, who was wearing a surgical mask

because he went with him into surgery.

 

Henry is likely going to be sore and needing extra rest for a couple days, but we really are so impressed with how well he handled the whole ordeal.  Our little champion!   

Camping at Cran-Hill Ranch

 

We arrived at Cran-Hill Ranch Friday afternoon, and while Joe and Paul set up the campsite, the kids were eager to explore.

First stop, the horses!

Henry had not even a hint of healthy fear.

Next stop, the playground!

 

Every summer growing up, my family spent a weekend at Cran-Hill and one tradition I wanted to carry on was the little boxes of cereal my mom would only buy for us when we went camping.  Something so fun about cereal in a little box!

Claire bought her first tootsie roll at the barn store with money she earned doing extra chores around the house.  Well worth all the windows she "cleaned"!

 

One of my favorite memories of Cran-Hill as a child: my dad taking me on the pony rides.  I'm glad to be seeing a new generation of daddy-daughter pony rides.

 

Both kids loved, loved, loved the pony rides.

The kids just gravitated to the petting zoo.  Every time we walked past, the kids wanted to stop and say "hi" to their friends.

Baa

Paul and the bunny

 

While the morning was a bit drizzly, the clouds cleared by the afternoon,

and we made our way to the beach.

 

There was also plenty of time to relax and visit with friends.

Though the kids don't seem to appreciate the art of relaxation, at least not with cool things like sticks and pine needles waiting to be played with.

The boys, looongtime friends.

Paul Wagner, Casey Koopmans, Joe and Henry, John Youngs

The Whole Gang

(minus Henry who was napping)

 

Such a great weekend!  We're already looking forward to doing it again next year.